More than Meets the eye
by Firewalker711
Summary: As far as this story goes so far? Curiosity. . .What could Gru possibly work on that would have him that consumed? Especially when it's for the girls? I already have a feeling that some of you know. But let's leave it a mystery to the others. ***Story reformatted. Much better.*** :)
1. Chapter 1

***It was 5:00am on a Monday morning, and Gru was down in the laboratory with Dr. Nephario. He was catching up on his latest experiments, and visiting the minions before the girls woke up. As he took a sip from his morning cup of coffee, Nephario studied him rather intently.  
"You seem a little lost in your thoughts. And I gather it's _not_ about the subject at hand?"  
"Not entirely. But do you realize dat de gurls have been with me a little over a year already?"  
"Really?" Nephario replied, pretending to be enthused. "I could've sworn it was _longer_. . ."  
"Not to me. . ." Gru answered, deep in thought. "I thought that maybe I should do something to mark de occasion."

Shaking his head, Nephario mocked.  
"Why not? It's not like you don't spoil them already. . ."

Knowing he had to agree, Gru nodded. "Yeah, I know. But what else can I do?"

Pretending to be excited, Nephario snapped his finger and replied, "I know! They still have a bit of summer left. So why don't you take them on another vacation. But instead of Florida. . .how bout _Alaska_?"

Catching onto his sarcasm, Gru cocked his head. "Will you be serious?!" he snapped, as Nephario chuckled. "I want to give dem something special. But I want it to be something they'd never forget. . ." He replied, noticing one of Agnes's cute drawings that she'd left behind during one of her visits. Suddenly. . .Gru felt as though a bolt of lightening struck his brain, causing his eyes to slowly widen. "I've got it. . ." he muttered. "_I've got it_!"  
"What? What are you babblin about?"  
"I _know_ what we can do!"  
"_We_?" Nephario implied.  
"Yeah. . .We! We can-" Now he paused, noticing how captivated the minions looked. But on this occasion, he didn't even want them to know! This caused him to lean down until he whispered the secret in Nephario's ear. Immediately, the old scientist scoffed,  
"What? Are you mad?!" Letting out a chuckle, Gru shrugged.  
"Yeah. But dat's beside de point. We can do dis. I _know_ we can. . ."  
Looking up at his dear friend, Nephario asked. "You _are_ serious. . ." Now Gru's expression turned sober.  
"As serious as you were, when you made de _Minions_. . ."  
Knowing he meant business, Nephario said,  
"But just like with the Minions. . .the development can go on for weeks. . .maybe even months. And then, I may not get a breakthrough. . ."  
"Doesn't matter . .At least we can say we tried. Right?" Sighing heavily, he nodded,  
"True. . ." Now he noticed Gru's somber gaze.  
"Please? It would really mean a lot to me. . ." Knowing he didn't have a chance, Nephario gazed up at the ceiling with hopelessness. "Alright. . .alright. . .I'm in. . ." he sighed, rather amused at Gru's giddy reaction. "Great!"  
"But. . . I can't make a move until you do your part."  
"No problem. I'll get started as soon as de gurls are in bed!"

**Several weeks later. . . **  
At first, Margo thought she was dreaming when she felt a light tugging on her foot. This had her head slowly lifting to the sight of Edith and Agnes standing on the side of the bed. Groaning, she flopped back down on the pillow. "_Ugghh_. . .What do you want?"  
"Some breakfast. But we can't find Gru anywhere. . ." Edith complained. Sighing heavily, Margo replied, "That doesn't surprise me. He's never around lately." Giving one last stretch, she sat up in bed and threw the covers off. "He's probably down in the lab, working on that. . ._whatever-it-is_. I'll call him."

Within minutes Gru returned, hurriedly bursting through the kitchen doors to find the girls and one of the minions waiting for him at the kitchen table. "Goodmorning gurls. . ."  
"Mornin dad. . ." Edith said in the middle of a yawn.  
"Mattina Boss!" Larry chipperly called out. Looking toward him, Gru smirked and replied, "Morning Larry. Trying to sneak and get some breakfast, huh?"  
"Si. . .si. . ." he replied, beginning to giggle. At the same time, Edith noticed the plans under his arm and asked,  
"What cha workin on?" Setting them on the counter, Gru smiled and said, "Something very. . .veeery big. . ."  
"Bigger than the rocket?" Agnes asked, hopping up on a stool. "Weell. . ." he playfully replied, "Lets just say it's pretty close to it."  
"Can I see?" she asked, attempting to reach out for them. Just as quickly Gru pulled them away. "Oh, no. . no. . .no. You can't cause uhh. . .it's top secret and I'm not finished yet. But once I am I promise you can look. A'right?"  
"Ok. . ."  
"For now how bout some breakfast, hmmm? Pancakes?" He bribed, quickly trying to change the subject.  
"No. . .Bacon and eggs. . ." Edith playfully ordered.  
"Then bacon and eggs it is. . ." he replied, quickly going to the fridge. At the same time, Gru now placed the blueprints on the counter next to the stove. As he began to pull the stuff out the fridge, he noticed Margo glaring at him with her arms folded. Knowing her stance was irritated, Gru gave her a mocking leer. "Don't give me dat look. . .I just lost track of time. That's all. . ."  
"As usual. . ." She intentionally mimed. "But . . .do you still have time to bring me to the mall today?"  
Inwardly cringing, Gru _muttered,_  
_"Ohhh._ . .I forgot about dat." Eyes widening, Margo scoffed.  
"I've been asking, and you promised you'd bring me today."  
"I know. . .I know. . .And I will. As soon as I'm finished." Gru quickly replied.  
Beginning to grow angry, Margo quickly turned away and sharply muttered, "Yeah? You've been saying that all week too!"

Sighing heavily himself, Gru pulled the bacon out the fridge. Just as he grabbed the frying pan, the phone began ringing. Snatching it out of his pocket, he flipped it open. "Yeess?"  
"Gru!" Nepharios excited voice chirped from the other side. "I think I've finally made a breakthrough!"

Eyes widening Gru set the frying pan down on the stove. _"What?"_  
_"Yeah!_ There's been a new development! You need to get down here ASAP!" Growing very excited, Gru nodded,  
"Alright. . .alright I'm coming!" As he hung up, Margo rolled her eyes with frustration. "Tsk! _Daaad_!"  
"Don't worry. I'll be right back. I promise. . ." He coolly replied, ignoring the aggravated look on her face. "Don't touch anything. I'll only be a few minutes!"

Eventually this turned into ten minutes. Then twenty. . .then thirty. Looking at her oldest sister, Agnes moaned,  
"I'm hungry. . ." Finally at the end of her rope, Margo snapped, "Well, that's it!" Now she quickly walked up to the stove and hesitated. Suspecting what she was up to, Edith was right on the side of her.  
"Uh. . .What are you doing?" She asked as Margo carefully turned the fire back on.

Trying to act grown up, she nonchalantly replied, "What does it look like? I'm cooking breakfast. . ." Eyes widening Edith replied,  
"But. . .you know you're not supposed to use the stove. . ."  
"I don't care! He's never here anymore. So somebody has to!"  
Opening the pack of bacon, Margo began laying it out one piece at a time. And within minutes, it was beginning to fry. About fifteen minutes later, it was crispy enough for her to start pulling it out. "This ain't so bad. . ." she bragged, putting it on a paper towel. "I don't see what the big deals about. Edith, get me the eggs."  
Proud of her big sisters accomplishment, she hopped off the stool. "Ok. . ." she said, running to the fridge.  
As Margo waited, the grease continued to heat up. Little did she know that Gru always turned the fire down before frying the eggs. And she was about to find out the hard way. Taking the carton from her sister, she laid it on the counter and opened it up. Grabbing an egg Margo cracked it on the edge of the pan, then dropped it in the hot oil same way Gru done. Only instead of it frying normally the way the bacon did, it began to bubble up then pop like a firecracker! Stunned over what was happening, Edith pulled Agnes further away. "What's happening?"  
"I don't know! It's like the eggs exploding." she replied, attempting to grip the handle of the frying pan, in order to pull it off the burner. But that's when a splotch of grease flew out, landing on her hand. "_Owwww_!" She cried, impulsively jerking the handle so hard that it sent the oil onto the flames, causing them to lap from underneath the pan.  
"Fire! _Fire!"_ Edith cried, running to the sink and filling up a glass of water. Quickly she turned and ran back to the stove.

Eyes widening, Margo cried, _"No,_ Edith!" But by then it was too late. Instead of extinguishing it, the fire now floated on top the water until it was rapidly spreading across the stove and the counter. Petrified, Margo could only shake her head in disbelief. "Oh no." she muttered. This had Edith beginning to panic.  
"What'll we do? What'll we do?!" Little did they know that Larry had already fled the kitchen, and was on his way down to the lab!

**Meanwhile. . .**  
Gru was standing next to Dr. Nephario at the lab table. Intently he gazed into microscope, observing the now _growing_ specimen in a petri dish.  
"Dis is _fantastic_! I never expected a breakthrough to happen dis soon!"  
"Well now that it has, the only thing we could do is watch and wait. But it won't be for long. Normally the gestation period runs 340 days. Well I've sped up the development to half of that. Giving him a look of uncertainty, Gru asked,  
"But dat won't speed up it's aging, will it?"  
Thinking about it, Nephario nodded, "Possibly. . .But not by much. Maybe two to three years to our one."  
"Well. . .Dat's not too bad. I want it to be around for a long time-" Before he could finish, Gru was caught off guard to the sight of Larry coming down the chute. In a panic he ran up to him, all the while hollering, "Incendio in cucina! Incendio in cucina!" (Fire in the kitchen!_Fire in the kitchen_!)

Wideyed, Gru marveled down at him in disbelief.  
"_What_?!"

By then the fire was slowly beginning to lap up the sides of the counter, causing the girls to start coughing.  
"Quick! Get Agnes out of here!" Margo frantically ordered. This had Edith grabbing onto her sisters hand. Just as they got to the door, Gru barged in and froze. Gasping with horror he quickly ran to the top shelf and grabbed the fire extinguisher. Within seconds of pulling out the pin, Gru had wiped out the entire fire. Leaving a thick plume of white powder and smoke. As the dust began to settle, he could only marvel at the mess in disbelief. Dealing with the sight of the burned up stove, cabinets, and singed up walls was one thing. But it was what he saw on the counter that had him reeling. His eyes widened with horror to the sight of his blue prints, now scorched beyond repair. Feeling like the wind had been knocked out of him, Gru slowly shook his head and moaned, "What a nightmare."  
Numbly his brain tried to deduce what caused all the mayhem. And then. . .he noticed the scorched frying pan with the nearly unrecognizable charbroiled egg in the center. Putting it all together, he could feel his blood pressure beginning to soar! As he slowly turned around, Margo felt her stomach turn cold when she saw the furious expression on his face. The last time she saw him this mad, was when Vector kidnapped them! Only this time she never dreamed it would be with her. Slowly shaking his head, Gru growled out, "What in de wourld happened in here?!"  
Nearly a nervous wreck, Margo timidly stammered, "I thought. . .I mean I tried. . ."  
"_I don't want to hear it_!" Gru snapped out, making her jump. "You, young lady, are grounded till you're _40_!" As she gaped down at the floor, he flung his hands up with exasperation. "I can't _believe_ you did this! How many times have I told you over and over again _not_ to cook on dis stove _without supervision_?!"

Now this had her boldly looking into his eyes."Well I wouldn't if you had been here like you were supposed to!" Margo angrily protested. "But you're always somewhere working on your stupid ideas!"

Marveling at her, Gru huffed, "_Stupid_?! Do you have any idea how important dis is?!"  
"Obviously enough to put us second!"  
Realizing the root of where this was really coming from, Gru defensively replied, "Dat's not true!"  
"Yes, it is!" She argued. "You're not acting any different than you were when we first moved here! You're plans always come first, no matter what!"

Stiffening with ire, he flung a hand on his hip. "Well you don't have to worry about it now, cause these have been incinerated! I hope you're happy!"  
"Maybe I am!" she defiantly replied, causing his eyes to widen. "Cause now you can start acting like a dad again! Or was that part of your _plan_ too?"  
For Gru that cruel bit of sarcasm was the last straw. Desperately fighting to keep from blowing his stack, he angrily hissed through his teeth. "Dats it. Go to your room. . ._Now_!" He shouted, causing her to jump. Choking back a sob, Margo ran past him and out the door.

Through the intense chaos, Gru looked down at the two younger sisters, to find that Agnes was crying, and Edith wasn't very far herself. Although still very irritated, the mere sight of this had his heart aching. Determined to be as level-headed with them as possible, he took a deep breath and shakily replied, "It's ok. . .It's gonna be alright." Reaching into the cabinet he pulled out two chewy granola bars for each of them, then some juice boxes out the fridge. "Here. Take dis for now. And we'll get pizza later on, alright?" With a quivering lip, Edith nodded then timidly took Agnes by the hand, and pulled her out the kitchen.

As they walked out, Nephario and a handful of minions unexpectedly stepped inside and froze. Silently Gru watched as they all marveled at the kitchen in disbelief. "Ohh. . .no. . .What on earth happened in here?" Fuming beyond all reason, Gru reached out and snatched the scorched up plans off the counter. Roughly flinging it in front of him, he barked, "You figure it out!"  
Thereafter he spun around, punching his way through the red double doors.


	2. Chapter 2

After having calmed down a bit, the reality of what happened hit Gru hard. Not just from the scorched up kitchen. But from the way he'd blown up at his oldest daughter, and hadn't spoken to her in a couple of hours. Wanting to somehow make up for it, Gru done as he'd promised and ordered two pizzas. The first stop was the kitchen. Opening the doors, he found that several of his minions were already hard at work, scrubbing the walls down, and wiping off the metal cabinets.  
"Good job boys. . .I appreciate it. . ." he said, as they looked up at him with black splotches on their yellow faces. "So. . .take a break. . ." he lightheartedly replied, pulling the pizza out from behind his back. Right away Mark, Tim, and Phil gasped with surprise. Throwing their scrub brushes down they ran up to him, hopping up and down in a frenzy. As they headed for the table he added, "Share and share alike. And no fighting!"  
"K! Grazie! _Grazie!"_ Mark happily replied.  
"You're welcome. . ."

Now the next destination was the hardest. Knowing he had to face the girls again. Particularly Margo. Carrying the pizza in front of him, Gru headed for her room and gently rapped on the door. At first when she didn't answer, he assumed that it was from her being mad at him. This caused him to open the door just a bit, to find that she wasn't even there. Knowing now that she could be anywhere, he sighed, "Great. . ."

Inwardly, he was hoping she'd be with her sisters. But was again disappointed to find that she wasn't. Instead, he found Edith and Agnes huddled together on a blanket spread across the floor. They weren't coloring, or playing dolls the way they usually were. But instead were just quietly watching TV. Their silence alone told Gru that they were still very upset over what happened. It caused his throat to clear loud enough to get their attention. Looking over their shoulders, their eyes widened with surprise. "Hey. . ." he softly replied. "Here's de pizza I promised. Ya'll can eat in front of the T.V. if you want. . ." Now instead of jumping up into a feeding frenzy like they normally did, they actually hesitated as though not knowing what to do. This had Gru sighing heavily, realizing how extent the damage was. Deep down he knew what he had to do. This had him setting the pizza down on the inntable, walking over until he'd sat down on the couch. Glancing toward them he said nothing, but instead lightly patted the seat. Knowing what he wanted, the two girls timidly made their way towards him. Once they were there, Agnes wasted no time. Without any hesitation she climbed onto his lap, and he hugged her tight.

Pulling back, he looked at the two of them and said, "Look. . .I'm sorry I lost my cool back dere. . .alright?"  
Gaping down at the floor, Edith mumbled, "Are ya gonna give us back?" Stumped over her question, Gru asked,

"Of course not! After being here all dis time, why would you even ask?" Fidgeting, she answered,

"Cause you were so mad." Shaking his head, Gru let out a tiny chuckle.  
"Edith. . .half my kitchen got bourned up! What was I supposed to do? _Laugh_?"  
Knowing he had a point, she could only shrug and look away. "But it was all my fault."

Rather intrigued over her confession, Gru raised an eyebrow. "Now why would you say dat?"  
"Cause I threw a glass of water on top of the fire. . .and it spread. . ." she timidly replied, watching as Gru groaned, and rubbed a hand down his face.

"_Ohhhhh_, Edith. You never, _ever_ throw water on top of a grease fire. De oil floats on top de water, so the flames will float too." He lectured, noticing how upset she was started to get. "But you didn't know, so it's not you're fault. Alright?" This had Gru reaching out, tilting her chin up until she was staring at his sincere gaze. "_Alright_?" As she nodded, he sighed heavily. "Look. You gurls may drive me crazy, and I might lose my temper. But it doesn't mean I'd toss you back. Understand? You're stuck with me for de long haul. . .So you'd better get used to it. . ." By the way she smiled, Gru knew she felt more reassured. "Good. . .Den come here. . ." He gently ordered. This time without any hesitation, Edith threw her arms around his neck. Closing his eyes, Gru hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her forehead.

Knowing it was officially settled with his two younger kittens, Gru stood up and asked, "Now where's your sister."  
Edith could only shrug. "Don't know. . ." Raising an eyebrow rather playfully, he asked, "Really? You wouldn't be _lie_ to me, would you?"  
"No. I really don't know where she is."  
"Well. . .I need to find her. . ."  
"You're not going to yell at her again, are you?"

Amused over Agnes's motherly tone, Gru smiled. "No. I promise I won't. I tink I've done enough of dat for one day. . ."

**Meanwhile in the lab**  
In spite of all the mayhem that had happened upstairs, Nephario was still deeply engrossed with the new control subject. He was so engrossed, that he never noticed Margo step out of the transport chute. Dave did, and he quickly began tugging on his lab coat. "Hmm? What?" he asked, looking over his shoulder. Caught off guard by her presence, Nephario quickly threw a cover over the experiment and spun around. Rather irritated over her intrusion he crossly asked,  
"And just what are _you_ doing down here?"

In no mood to be interrogated, Margo sighed heavily and replied, "Don't worry. . .I won't get in your way. . ."

By the hurt tone in her voice, Nephario knew she was still very upset. Which sent a pang of guilt to his conscience. Deep down he too felt somewhat responsible for the mishap. Knowing that if he hadn't delayed Gru those few minutes, it never would've happened. But what really gnawed at him, was the unexpected sight of blisters on her hand. "Hold on a minute there, young lady." he ordered, causing her to sigh with frustration. Now he approached her, getting a closer look at the wound. "That's one nasty burn. Does Gru know about it?"  
Unable to look at him, Margo crossly replied, "No. . But after what happened he'd probably think I deserved it."

Knowing his friend a whole lot better than that, Nephario shook his head, "Oh, I don't think so. . ."  
"Does it even matter?" She asked, now attempting to walk past him.  
"Well sure it does. . ." he blurted, causing her to stop momentarily. Giving him a questioning glance, Margo watched as he walked up to the lab counter and pulled down what looked like a first aid box. As he opened it, he replied, "You know. . .it might seem like Gru's been abandoning you lately but. . .there's more to it than meets the eye." Now he reached out, giving her what looked like a tube of ointment. "Here. . .You don't want that ta get infected. So rub some of this on you're hand. . .And make sure you keep it clean. Alright?"

Seeing his rare show of compassion, Margo found herself giving him a timid smile.  
"Thanks. . ." she replied, as Nephario nodded in return.

After about thirty minutes, Nephario wasn't surprised when Gru walked into the lab with a deeply troubled expression on his face. Not wanting his old friend to be mad at him, he calmly replied, "I gather. . .you're looking for Margo?" This had Gru's eyes widening with intrigue.  
"Yeah. . .For de past hour. But I haven't found her anywhere. . ."  
"Well you don't have to look any further. She's been down here, and she's in the hanger."  
Feeling the relief overwhelm him, Gru sighed then nodded. "Ok. Thanks. . ."  
As he walked passed Nephario, he heard him conclude with, "Gru. . .I'm sorry." This had him stopping dead in his tracks. Appreciative over the old mans apology, Gru could only shake his head. "Don't worry about it. It's not just you. . .We're all at fault, here." Sighing, he shook his head then added, "Me, more den anyone else.

**Moments later. . . **

In the distance, Margo saw Gru coming and could feel her stomach turning over with anxiety. Right away she wanted to get up and run, but instead found herself waiting. As he got closer and closer, she could feel her heart pounding with anxiety. But by the way he hesitated, Margo could tell he was just as tense as she was. Sitting on the steps next to her, Gru muttered, "Hey. . ."  
"Hi. . ." she replied, still unable to look him in the face.  
"What you doing down here?" Timidly shrugging she answered,  
"Just thinking. . ." Knowing exactly what she meant, Gru sighed heavily.  
"Yeah. . .Me too. But I'll go up on de platform, and look at de moon. . ." Now Margo watched as he looked behind him, then smiled. "I remember when you and your sisters danced here for dat private recital."

Surprised that he would mention that, Margo playfully inclined, "Uh-huh. And so did you."  
Remembering the painful disco split he'd done that night, Gru could feel the bones of his pelvis cracking all over again. Shivering, he muttered, "Yeah. . .I know. . .Don't remind me. I was sore for three days."

This in turn had her grinning, causing the ice to break a little bit. This gave Gru the boldness to turn and face her a little more. "Look, I know it seems hard right now. But no matter how bad things get, it's nothing dat can't be fixed. Right?"Knowing he was trying to reach out to her, Margo timidly nodded, "Right. . ." As she turned a little more toward him, Gru immediately noticed the red splotches on the top of her hand.

This had her pulling back, as though trying to hide it from him. But it was too late.

"Wait a minute. . .Margo. . .what was dat?"

"What was what?" she innocently asked.

Raising an eyebrow Gru replied, "You're hand. Let me see. . ." he gently ordered, watching as she reluctantly held it out. There his breath caught to the to the site of water blisters. Marveling up at her, he asked, "Margo, what in de wourld happened?"

Beginning to grow upset all over again, Margo feebly replied, "Some hot grease splashed on me, and I got burned."  
For Gru, that was the final blow to everything that happened over the last several hours. For a minute all he could do was gape up at the ceiling and tightly close his eyes. When they opened, they were glistening with tears. Full of deep remorse all he could do was shake his head, giving Margo one of the saddest looks she'd ever seen. The sight of this overwhelmed her so much, that she began to cry. By then no words were said. Gru reached out and gently took her into his arms. "I'm sorry. . ." he whispered in a cracked voice.

As she was swallowed up by his tight bear hug Margo wept out, "Me too. . .I'm sorry I messed everything up."  
Overwhelmed beyond measure, Gru choked out.  
"Oh, I don't care bout dat. You got hourt and I didn't even notice? What does dat say about me, huh?" Sniffling hard he tearfully added, "You were right. If I'd been dere, dis never would've happened! I just got carried away, dats all." Now he pulled Margo away, sincerely looking into her eyes. "But. . .I _never_ meant to put you second. It know it may not seem like it right now but, "_Gru_," is not de top priority. It's you three. You're de most important people in my life. If I lost you, it would kill me. It really would." he choked out, getting teary eyed once again. This had Margo cuddling back up against him, feeling as he rocked her back and fourth.

Although secure by his embrace, Margo just couldn't help herself. "So. . .am I still grounded till I'm 40?"  
Thrown off by her question, Gru let out a chuckle. Thereafter he stared down at her blistered hand and shook his head.

"No. . .I think you've been punished enough. But it would be nice if you helped clean up de mess in the kitchen. I'm sure de boys would appreciate it. . ." Knowing it was the least she could do, Margo nodded. "Ok. . ."  
"But furst things furst. Let's go treat that bourn before it gets infected. . ."  
"Well Dr. N. gave me this. . ." she replied, showing him the tube of ointment.  
"Really?" Gru asked, rather touched over the old mans gesture. "Well. . .It just goes to show you dat he's not so bad. Just _old_. . ." he mocked, as Margo began to snicker.


	3. Chapter 3

Out of a dead sleep Margo felt her bed shaking. She peeked up to find Gru nudging the foot with his knee!

"_Ohhhhh_. . .What do you want?" she groaned, throwing a pillow back over her head.  
"Wake up. .wake up. . .wake up! It's ready!"  
"What's ready?" she asked in the middle of a hard yawn.  
"De _thing_ we've been wourking on for six months!" he exclaimed, as her eyes widened with intrigue.  
"Really?"

Now she saw the serious side emerge through Gru's giddiness. Nodding he replied, "_Really_. And I can't wait to show it to you." Seeing how excited he truly was, Margo hopped out of bed. "Then I can't wait to see it. . ."

As she got dressed, Gru quickly headed to Edith and Agnes's room. Flinging the door open, he began flipping the light switch on and off real fast. "Oh _girrrls_. Wake up." he playfully cooed, as they both sat up in a daze. "I've got a beeg surprise for you. And it's waiting down in de lab. . ." Hearing fully awakened Edith out of a dead sleep.  
"Waiting? What in the world is it?"  
"Ehhh. . .It's classified." Gru playfully replied, as she shot him an annoyed glance. "But you won't know until you get up. . ."

**Meanwhile**. . .

Down in the lab Dr. Nephario actually found himself just as excited as Gru was. Knowing deep down that the months of work and dedication were about to pay off in a way he never thought possible. Anxiously he waited, as the transport began quickly coming up. This had him looking back over his shoulder towards Dave. "They're coming. Go hide. . ." he ordered, as Dave ran off laughing.  
Now the four of them appeared in an amusing way.

Gru had all three of them blindfolded, and holding hands like they were in some sort of a chain gang! Holding onto Margos hand, Gru led them out of the chute, until they were all standing in front of the research table.  
"Is it ready?"  
"Yep. . ." Letting go of Margo's hand, Gru stepped back and said,  
"You can take dem off now. . ."  
"It's about time. . ." Margo grumbled, yanking the blindfold off. Then as she watched, Dave slowly came from around the corner, and what he had caused her mouth to fall _open._  
_"Ooooh!_ It's a pony! A real pony!" Agnes cried with excitement.  
"Oh it's so cute! Is it a boy or a girl?"  
"It's a female. . ." Nephario answered.  
"Cool. . ." Edith replied, stepping a little closer as if wanting to pet it.

Sensing her hesitancy, Gru coaxed, "Go on. . .she won't bite you. Just be gentle. Ok?"  
"Ok. . ." she said, and slowly walked up to it. The pony seemed to since her apprehension, and nudged her with its snout.

As she giggled, Gru muttered,  
"Dave's got that thing spoiled rotten. Just like you three. . ."  
"It's really pretty but. . .why is it so small?" Margo asked out of curiosity.  
"Hmmm. . .Let me think." Gru playfully answered. "Maybe because do to its certain _features_, we'll have to raise it down here in its own habitat. So a normal sized horse would be a little impossible. . ."

At the same time, he noticed the way Margo seemed to be staring at the top of its head with some incredulity, as though not believing her own eyes. "Wait a minute. . .Is that. . .a _horn_ I see?"  
"Sure looks like one. . ." Nephario playfully replied, as Edith and Agnes suddenly noticed it _too._  
_"Whoa._ No kidding! Is it real?" Edith asked, getting a little closer.

"Of _course_ it's real. . .Touch it. You'll see. . ."

Gathering their nerve, both the girls gently reached forward. The pony let out a whinny as she touched the horn. Mouth falling open Edith said, "It _is_ real!"  
Completely dumbfounded Margo muttered, "Then that would make it a. . ."  
"_Unicorn_!" Agnes shrieked with excitement.  
Now in total shock, Edith replied, "No way!"  
"It's true. . ." Gru chuckled. "It really is a unicorn. . ."

Now gaping from themselves to him, the two younger sisters let out a shriek of joy, then literally tackled Gru with a bear hug.

"_Thank you_!" They both cried at the same time. Trying to keep his balance, he squeezed them tight.  
"You're welcome gurls. You're welcome. But I have to tell you something _very_ important." He said, now kneeling down to their level. "Chances are dis is de only Unicorn in de wourld. And if anyone ever found out, they might come and take it away." He stressed, as their eyes widened with fear. "And we wouldn't want dat. Right?"  
"No. . ." They all said together.  
"Dat's why you can't say anything about it. It has to be our secret. . .Promise?"  
He asked, holding out his pinky. Right away they grabbed his pinky finger and nodded.  
"We promise. . ."  
"Good. Now go ask Dave to give you some hey, so you can feed her." he chuckled, as the two younger siblings gasped with delight, then ran back to the foal with excitement. But not Margo. She was still completely mystified, as Gru figured she would be. For she was always the logical one out the three.

Slowly shaking her head, she muttered, "Come on. This can't be real. I mean. . .unicorns don't exist!"  
"On the contrary, young lady. They do in this lab." Nephario playfully interrupted. "The same way the _Minions_ do."

Realizing what he meant, Margo's widened with disbelief.  
"Whoa. . .So you're saying you made her?"  
"Sure did. With DNA taken from a female miniature horse, and a one-horned impala goat. But it was Gru's idea." Nephario quickly added. "And he was down here every day for the past six months, checking ta make sure the development went through without any complications." This had her stunned gaze slowly shifting back to Gru.  
Right away Margo began to recall everything that happened, including the fire, and the mean way she talked to him. And although it was over with, she could feel the guilt stabbing at her all over again. Gru could read it by the marred expression that twisted over her face. Although the sight of this tugged at his heartstrings, he was determined to stay composed for the both of them.

"Hey. . .I know what you're thinking. But don't. It's my fault for not telling you. So you don't have anything to feel guilty about. Alright?"  
Giving him a look of sheer admiration, Margo shook her head and whispered, "I just. . .can't believe you did this for us."

Smiling, Gru reached out and gently gripped the underneath of her chin. "Well. . .If dis don't prove how much I care. . .den nothing will." Very appreciative, Margo flew forward and hugged his waist.  
"I love you so much."

Closing his eyes, Gru gave her a tight squeeze. "I love you too kiddo. . ." Letting her go he smiled. "Now go on. . .It's your pony too." Nodding she quickly turned to joined her two sisters. That is until she was about to pass Dr. Nephario, and hesitated. Before he realized what she was doing Margo grabbed his arm, pulling him down until she'd kissed him on the cheek. "Dr. N. You're awesome. . ." Actually flustered, Nephario cleared his throat then shrugged,  
"But. . .I told you it wasn't my idea."  
"I know. But _you_ made him. And. . .you could've said, "_No_." she stressed, as a touched expression crept over his old face. "So, thank you. . ."

Giving her a genuine smile, Nephario nodded. "You're welcome, child. . ."  
As he silently tried to compose himself, Gru just couldn't help it. Grinning from ear to ear he mocked,  
"So whose de _princess_ now, hmmm?"  
Haunted by his own words, Nephario scoffed with embarrassment. "Oh, dummy up. . ."  
He irritably mumbled, as Gru began to laugh.  
"Well. . .I don't know bout you, but out of all the tings I've done in my life. Out of all de bombs I've built, and de heists I've made. Even with de moon . . dis here. . .is de most _gratifying_."

Out the corner of his eye, he watched as Dr. Nephario stared at the girls. Then let out a heavy sigh of defeat.  
"Yeah? For me too. . ."

_After intense deliberating, it was decided that they would name the foal Zoe'_


End file.
